My Dreamer
by Chasen Holtwood
Summary: Galen's dreams answer his questions about everyday life and salvation.


**Galen Starifei looked around the white room and didn't recognize his surroundings. **_**Where am I, he thought. The flooring, ceiling, and walls were all painted a pure white. The room was empty aside from a white wardrobe and a small window that the sunlight glistened through. **_

"_**Hello?" Galen asked. As he walked around the room, he noticed that his voice and footsteps echoed because of the room's emptiness. "Hello?" Galen's heart began to pound when he heard footsteps. He wasn't sure if he wanted to be found anymore, because who he was found by might not believe his crazy story. In desperation, Galen ran into the wardrobe. The wardrobe was full of boxes and cloaks to hide behind, so Galen ducked in the corner and remained silent. The footsteps were just outside the door. Galen's heart was thumping so rapidly and loudly, he wondered if the person chasing after him could hear it. **_

"_**Is someone in here? Come, Ainsley, I thought I heard someone. You check the left side of the hallway and all its rooms, and I'll take the right." The voice sounded like a teenage boy's. Galen heard the footsteps split up into different directions and a huge release of air. Galen realized he had been holding his breath out of fear of being found. He slowly stood up and hit his head against the shelf above him. The shelf fell, Galen yelped and jumped back. **_

"_**Really, who keeps a shelf in a wardrobe?" Realizing he might have just given himself away, Galen slapped his hand over his mouth and hid behind the boxes once again. **_

"_**Over here!" This time Galen heard a female voice, which he assumed must be Ainsley. His heart began to pound harder than the first time when he heard to sets of footsteps enter the room. His breathing was heavy and shaky, so Galen decided to hold his breath again. The footsteps came near to the wardrobe. **_

"_**Maybe we should get Apollonia first," the male voice said. Ainsley snorted.**_

"_**You're such a baby, Lark! Apollonia is not your mother," Ainsley retorted. Lark fell silent. Galen heard them come closer.**_

"_**I am not a baby, I am older than you, Ainsley." Lark sounded mad. Galen had a sudden urge to find out who Lark and Ainsley really were and whether or not they'd kill him.**_

"_**So? You're the one always whining to Apollonia!" Ainsley seemed very annoyed. Galen began to wonder who this 'Apollonia' was. **_

"_**You're the only person who thinks I am whiney, and the reason you think that is because you're my sister," Lark said. **_

"_**I am not your sister! Oh, and by the way, all those people who you call your friends agree with me," Ainsley retorted. Lark sighed. **_

"_**Stop making things up," he said. **_

"_**I am not!" Suddenly, there was a slam against the wardrobe door and it swung open. Galen found himself staring into Ainsley's soft brown eyes. Her hair was long, wavy, and tangled, but it matched her eyes. Where was Lark?**_

'_**Why'd you push me? You can be such a pain, I don't know how I can stand living with you, and I-" Lark stopped and looked up at Galen from the floor. **_

"_**What are you doing in the wardrobe? Who are you? We could have you killed, you know," Ainsley snapped. Lark remained silent, but his blue eyes were large with worry. **_

"_**I don't know where I am," Galen admitted. Ainsley rolled her eyes and grabbed Galen's wrist with a tight grip. Her fingernails dug under his skin, but Galen didn't pull away. **_

"_**Whatever. If Apollonia says you're okay, you can stay." Ainsley led Galen into the hallway. The ceiling was very high from the floor. There were windows instead of walls, so the house was very bright. There was a chandelier used just for decoration hanging from the middle of the ceiling. Ainsley led Galen down a large, steep, twisted staircase, followed by Lark. **_

"_**But I don't want to stay! I want to go back home," Galen explained. He wondered if he sounded as whiney as Ainsley portrayed Lark to be. Ainsley ignored Galen and drug him into a bustling kitchen. A woman with long, curly white hair was working over the oven. The pan she was using looked big enough to feed an entire country. **_

"_**We found him in the wardrobe," Ainsley said simply. She pushed Galen closer to Apollonia. Galen opened his mouth to explain himself to Apollonia, but Apollonia just smiled warmly and nodded quickly. **_

"_**Of course he can stay. Lark needs a roommate, after all. I'm Apollonia." Lark just finished hiking down the stairs. Galen noticed something that did not stand out to him before- Lark was limping. Did Ainsley do that to him when she shoved him into the wardrobe, or was Lark limping before?**_

"_**My name is Galen. Thank you, but I really have to get back. My Aunt Sara and my Uncle Jon are going to be very mad at me." Galen just remembered his aunt and uncle now. The last time he ran off, his uncle was furious. The only thing that drove Galen crazy was the fact that he didn't remember running off. He figured the shelf in the wardrobe hit him hard. **_

"_**You live with them?" Apollonia was stirring now. The sweet aroma filled the air and Galen's stomach growled. Ainsley and Lark had disappeared when he was talking to Apollonia, leaving him alone with a woman he had just met several moments ago. **_

"_**Yes, both of my parents are dead. When I was about seven, they took me in." Galen wasn't sure why he felt so embarrassed about sharing his past with Apollonia.**_

"_**I found Ainsley and Lark on the doorstep. I am not sure if they are siblings or not, but Lark believes they are, and Ainsley refuses to believe," Apollonia looked sadly at Lark and Ainsley, who were setting a the extremely long table. **_

"_**Why were they left on your doorstep, if you don't mind my asking?" Apollonia looked as if she were in a trance. She gazed at the two teenagers merrily squabbling with one another. **_

"_**Because this place in an orphanage," she said. Galen was shocked. He never expected the huge house to be an orphanage, or for Apollonia to be the caretaker. **_

"_**But there are only two people here, aside from you," Galen said. He was more of asking a question than stating a fact. Were there more?**_

"_**No, there are sixteen. The rest are either in the basement or upstairs. I will send Lark to call them all for dinner, and he can introduce you to them all."**_

_**Galen forgot most of the sixteen orphans he met. He was surprised to learn their ages range from newborn to seventeen years of age. There were four people he met that day that he would never forget, however. Symphony was seventeen years old with jet-black, waist length hair. Galen remembered her because of her yellow eye that peered out from under the smooth, black hair. She seemed to rarely ever blink. The second person he'd never forget was thirteen year-old Vivian. She had all sorts of crazy ideas and endless energy. Galen enjoyed his conversations with her. The third person was Rhett. Rhett was the fourteen year-old genius. He had orange hair and seemed like a little brother to Lark. The last person was Alistair. Sixteen year-old Alistair spent most of his time training. He vowed to be a Light-seeker, and his determination scared Galen, though he wasn't sure what a Light-seeker was. He thought he'd seem stupid if he asked, so he dropped it. There was something different about each one of these mistaken kids that made Galen feel right at home. They were different than everyone in the orphanage, and Galen wanted whatever they had, though he didn't know what it was. **_

"_**Rhett, Vivian, and I are heading to the creek after dinner. Would you like to come, Galen?" Lark asked between bites. His blonde hair was still a mess from when he slid across the floor into the wardrobe. **_

"_**Sure," Galen replied quickly. Rhett was at the other end of the long table talking to Vivian. Vivian had her long, red hair pulled back into a high ponytail. Though it was still reaching her waist, it swung back and forth with her every move, almost like a tail. "What do you normally do at the creek?" Galen attempted to carry a pleasant conversation like everyone else. The dinner table of seventeen people was bustling with conversation. Galen had been asked a few questions at the beginning of dinner, but then everyone seemed to forget about him.**_

"_**It depends. Vivian and Rhett usually go swimming, but I stay on shore." Lark began to pick at his food. **_

"_**Why? Don't you like to swim," Galen asked. Lark shook his head and fell silent. He excused himself from the table and cleaned up his mess before heading upstairs. "Did I say something?" Vivian shook her head. **_

"_**No, he just can't swim because of the limp in his leg," she said. Her green eyes snapped open every time she blinked. **_

"_**How-" Galen started, but Vivian cut him off with a shake of her head. **_

"_**Whisper," she hissed. **_

"_**How did he get the limp?" Galen felt noisy, but he also felt as if he had a right to know. Vivian smiled a little bit before she answered. "He has a problem with his knee." Vivian burst out with hysterical laughter. Galen felt horrible for Lark. **_

"_**That's…not…funny…" Galen wondered if he missed the joke or if Vivian was actually being that cruel. **_

"_**You're a horrible Light-seeker, Vivian!" Rhett threw his fork down and shook his head. "You really shouldn't be making fun of Lark," Rhett said. **_

"_**You shouldn't be correcting her like you're all high-and-mighty, Rhett!" Symphony tossed a piece of her food at Rhett from across the long table. So this is what goes on when Apollonia isn't looking!**_

"_**You're such a hypocrite, you're correcting me!" Rhett tossed food back at Symphony, marking the start of an all-out food fight. **_

"_**I can't believe I actually looked up to these people. They act like five year-olds," Galen mumbled under his breath. Alistair was sitting to Galen's right and must've heard Galen, because he leaned in closer. **_

"_**Even Light-seekers like them mess up. Vivian, Lark, Rhett, Symphony, Apollonia, and I are the only Light-seekers here. It's really hard to always set a good example for the non-Light-seekers. Sometimes I feel like a fish in a bowl, the whole world's watching me and if I mess up, I pull them away from the Light." Alistair's words burned in Galen's mind as he picked at his food. The meal was some type of soup, but Galen didn't want to be rude and ask what it was. The soup felt as if it clung to his throat and had a salty aftertaste. **_

"_**Does anyone want my soup? I'm so tired, I think I'm just going to bed," Symphony excused herself from the table bounded up the stairs. She was sniffling. **_

"_**Ugh, I'll get her," Alistair sighed, running after Symphony. "She has a sensitive side to her and everything that is said gets her bawling," he called down the stairs. **_

"_**Is dinner always like this?" Galen stood up to place his plate in the sink, but he didn't know where it was. "Where do I put my plate?" Rhett swallow an enormous bite and then grabbed Galen's plate. He motioned for Galen to step outside with him. Confused, Galen followed him into the bright outdoors. Shading his face from the sun, Galen studied the house. It was the first time he had actually seen the outside of the house, and it was nothing like he expected. The house was like some greenhouses Galen had seen. Instead of walls, the house's frame was made up of windows. The peculiar thing was though you could see inside from the outside, when you were inside of the house, they looked like walls. Galen could see Symphony wailing in her room. Her face was in her pillow and Alistair was leaning against the doorframe. Lark was leaning against the wall writing. His weak leg was stretched out of his bed as he furiously scribbled in the notebook. Galen wondered what Lark was writing. **_

"_**Galen! Over here," Rhett called. Rhett began to disappear into the ground. Galen ran after Rhett just before he had disappeared completely. Instead of disappearing, Rhett was climbing down a hole in the ground. "Come on, Galen." Rhett looked up and Galen and brushed his orange hair out of his face. Though he was fourteen, he had a rather boyish look on his face. Galen grabbed the wooden ladder and slowly lowered himself into the hole. "Isn't this fun? Whee!" Rhett jumped down the ladder, two steps at a time. **_

"_**Be careful, you don't know how deep this hole is." Galen's face was pale and his palms were sweaty. He had trouble gripping the wooden, old, rickety ladder. Though Galen would never admit this aloud, Rhett felt like the little brother Galen never had, though he had only known him for an hour. Galen would be devastated if anything happened to Rhett. **_

"_**Don't worry about it, the hole's only about four-hundred feet deep," Rhett said causally. Galen nearly let go of the ladder when Rhett announced the depth. **_

"_**Oh my goodness, let's go back up." Galen scrambled to get to the top, but his foot was wrapped around the ladder. He nervously kicked, his foot came out too fast and Galen lost balance. He plunged into the darkness while searched for the ladder. He found something hard and grabbed it. **_

"_**Be careful, you almost died." Rhett smiled down at Galen. Since the hole was so dark, Rhett's smile was the only thing visible. The rest of his body was a shadowy figure. Galen couldn't even see the light from the top of the hole anymore. **_

"_**Are we almost there yet?" Galen became irritated with the constant climbing. He was still very nervous with how high they were, but he didn't voice his fears aloud. **_

"_**What's wrong, Scardy Cat? Afraid of the dark or of heights? Instead of Scardy Cat, I think I'll call you Kat from now on. Spell it how you please!" Rhett's grin grew wider as Galen's face turned red. He wasn't even thinking about the dark until now. He began to feel more uneasy than he had been feeling before. **_

"_**I'm not scared," Galen lied. He looked up for Rhett, but Rhett was gone. "Rhett! Rhett!" Galen repeatedly called Rhett's name. He began to frantically look around. He looked to the left, then to the right- "Rhett, you scared me!" The familiar glowing grin returned. **_

"_**Sorry, I couldn't help but try to scare you. You were already so worked up and I thought that if I scared you, you'd be even more worked up. See how that works?" Rhett continued climbing by Galen's side. **_

"_**Yeah, I guess." Rhett smiled back at Galen. His grin actually glowed, not just was visible. Galen wondered what Rhett would think if he asked him to open his mouth and use his smile as a flashlight once they got down there, if they ever reached the bottom. Rhett began to tell Galen of the marvelous pranks he played on Symphony and then he suddenly fell. Rhett let out a small scream and then fell out of Galen's sight. Galen didn't know what to do besides stand there and call Rhett's name, so he jumped with Rhett. **_

_**Less than two seconds later, Galen hit the bottom of the hole- at last. It had only been a ten foot drop, but it was so dark that it was hard to tell. **_

"_**You okay, Rhett?" Galen crawled around the floor searching for Rhett. He heard a few sniffles, but that was it. **_

"_**There's a lantern on the wall for when we come down here. There are caterpillars beside it, as well. You split the caterpillars in half to light the match." Rhett sniffled as he was giving directions. **_

"_**Where are you," Galen asked as he fumbled around the walls until he found the lantern. Galen reached for the fat, juicy, plump caterpillars and squeezed the guts onto the lantern with a disgusted look on his face. When the lantern lit the hole, Galen found Rhett quietly crying in the corner. "You okay?" Galen was silently praying that Rhett didn't brake anything from a ten foot drop. **_

"_**I guess. I cut my leg on something sharp," Rhett rolled up his brown cargo pants leg and exposed his cut to Galen. The cut was hardly there, but Galen didn't laugh. He ripped off the baggy bottom of his shirt and bandaged Rhett's leg as if Rhett were his little brother, though they were only two years apart in age. **_

"_**It's from the lantern," Galen said, noticing a glass piece had fallen from the lantern. Rhett nodded slowly. His bright green eyes darted from the lantern and back to his 'wounded' leg. **_

"_**Don't tell Alistair about this," Rhett warned. Galen nodded. **_

"_**I won't," he promised. **_

"_**Did you bring your plate?" Rhett stood up from the ground. Galen shook his head slowly. How did Rhett expect him to climb down a ladder carrying a plate? **_

"_**Oh well. I'll show you were we wash the dishes anyway." Rhett lead Galen around the cave-like hole, carrying only the lantern. They turned a corner and found the most beautiful stream Galen had ever seen. **_

"_**How can there be a stream inside a hole?" Galen riveted by the deep, bright blue waters. They lapped at the sides of the cave flooring and reflected on the dark walls. Galen couldn't help but touch the water. He stretched out his hand which was dirty from the ladder. The water was cool and calm. Galen was absolutely drawn to it. He knew it was just a stream, but he had never seen anything like it before. When he drew his hand from out of the water, his hand was clean. In fact, it was nearly sparkling. **_

"_**This is where we wash our clothes, dishes, and everything else you can think of." Rhett cupped his hands in the water a took small, quick sips. "We live off of this stream." Rhett grabbed Galen' s wrist. "Let's go."**_


End file.
